Eating Chinese Food on Christmas

I did eat Chinese food for dinner on Christmas. But before that, so many other things had happened!

On Christmas Eve, Anna, Sophie, Lela and I baked chocolate chip cookies and watched Love Actually, the perfect start to Christmas activities

In the weeks before Christmas, I realized that NDZF expected me to be their resident Christmas expert. One student wrote me a very nice letter, wishing me a Merry Christmas and requesting that I teach him about the holiday in class, which I thought was funny. I was expected to teach the students Christmas songs, write Christmas plays for their Christmas “English Week” performance (since, as you know, all English speakers celebrate Christmas.) I did all this with a smile (or was it a grimace?) and was happy to see the students getting excited about their special performance. Only the Junior Is and Senior Is would have a “Christmas party,” and it was fun helping them prepare.

However, during this week I also became painfully aware of what I now call: China, SURPRISE! I felt like things were constantly changing on me while I remained unaware: days off when I thought I had work, work when I thought I had the day off, new schedules for next semester that were different from what we were originally told, our lesson plans going in the garbage after we were informed what we were teaching was not the “correct lesson” for the day. Needless to say, I was feeling underappreciated and a bit frustrated.

These feelings dissipated when I actually attended the Christmas performances. I felt frazzled when I arrived because (China, SURPRISE!) the show started at 3:30, not at 3:50 like we had originally been told, which made us a) late and b) unable to inform our students about the changes we had to make to their exam because of another, separate China, SURPRISE we had learned about the day before. But onto the good stuff: the Junior I play. The show was hosted by two excellent students (who were chosen from a contest that China, SURPRISE Sophie and I had judged) who were dressed very fancy and adorably. The first skit was based on the two characters from their textbook, the famous Eddie and Hobo. The next skit was a nativity play that Sophie and I had written (at the behest of my tutor, who insisted it be about the “origin of Christmas"). When we had rehearsed with our students, they still had not memorized their lines and did not know their blocking. However, China, SURPRISE! the play went wonderfully! Oddly, they changed a few of the lines we had written (which changed the story of the nativity, but that’s OK), Mary carried a Chinese fan, and Joseph was decked out with blush, eyeliner, and lipstick. Next was another play we had written (it had to be about a girl who had a dream that she was in New York City and made lots of English mistakes) that also went very well, even though there were more confusing and inexplicable changes.

Gagnam Style had to make an appearance...

Baby Jesus AKA a panda 

"American Dream" skit 

Sparkly dance

Some students singing "Baby"

Que Sera Sera

Students participating in a Christmas contest

I learned at these performances that Chinese teens really love Latin music, because the next few dances were also cha cha inspired. The students also sang the songs they chose for the performance, including Justin Bieber’s “Baby” and “You are my Sunshine.” Also, inexplicably, the few hours we had spent teaching Junior Class 5 “Jingle Bells” were apparently pointless, since their song was replaced with a dance to a disco version of “Que Sera Sera” (which explains why, when I asked them to what song they would dance, they told me: Cue Sarah Sarah.) At the end of the performance, they gave us a few gifts and a few hugs and I was in a really great mood.

Me with two of my best students,
Laurence Lee and Evangeline

The senior performances came next. I only teach 3 out of the 10 senior classes, so I didn't really know many of these kids. But first, China, SURPRISE, one of the Grinnell Corps fellows always dresses up as Santa and hands out candy to the kids, so I donned the famous red and white suit (and beard, which was a bit gross) and chucked candy at children. After Sophie and I settled in our seats post candy dispersal, some students sang an interesting rendition of "Moves Like Jagger" with a cha cha dance interlude. Next, the students' rendition of "Romeo and Juliet," except instead of the classic Shakespearean version, in this one Romeo and Juliet get married in a church while her father pantomimes trying to break down the doors, but in the end they're married and no one can do anything about it so Juliet's mother tells Romeo to "take care of her daughter." China surprise, whatever. The students were excellent though, so I didn't care about the rewrite. After a great Michael Jackson impersonator, my students did a performance of Mulan, the traditional Chinese legend. They were so good!

Michael Jackson! In the flesh!

Mulan and the soldiers

No one explained why Mulan's mother 
was a boy in drag...

Next came the dance section. A few students did a "street dance" performance complete with light up bracelets and shoelaces, which made for some cool photos. The students also sang "As Long as You Love Me" by the Backstreet Boys, which was really fun for Sophie and me since that song is basically like our childhood. For the last number, all the senior teachers got onstage and insisted Sophie and I join them. They sang, "dui mian de nu hai kan guo lai" to us, which is a Chinese song (duh) about guys who see lots of cute girls. I happen to know the words to this song, because it's the one Sophie, a history teacher, and I sang in the beginning of the year for the faculty talent show. They gave us fake flowers and it was just really adorable (and embarrassing.) At the end of the song, student representatives from all ten classes, even the seven I don't teach, rushed onstage and gave us gifts. A lot of gifts. By the end, it reminded me of one of those scenes in a movie where someone is trying on clothes and they keep throwing them onto their shopping buddy at fast forward pace so that by the end they're covered in clothes. You know what I mean? I couldn't carry all the gifts! It was way too generous and kind, but also made me feel really appreciated.

"Street dance"

Another photo, just cause it's so cool 

Singing "As Long as You Love Me" by the
Backstreet Boys

Afterwards, Fang Laoshi invited Sophie and me to a Christmas dinner with some of the NDZF faculty and their children. The kids were adorable, giving Sophie and me little gifts like they had seen the older kids do just a few minutes ago. We went to our favorite restaurant near the school and the food was delicious. Plus, it was the birthday of one of my favorite English teacher, Fanny, so we had a cake to celebrate. All in all, I left the restaurant feeling like I was a valued member of the NDFZ staff.

Even though I was exhausted from the activities of the day, I met up with Lela and Anna for hot chocolate (with crushed candy canes courtesy of Lela’s mom) and it was the perfect end to the evening. 

Lela with her hot chocolate

Anna, looking joyous

With my delicious hot chocolate...

Aren't the cups cute?

More photos soon to come... pictures of me as Santa, a cute Christmas card from a student, best of the "letters to Santa" and an itemized photo list of the gifts I got! Since I’ve never actually celebrated Christmas seriously, I will go so far to say: best Christmas ever!